Head and Neck Rain Shield

ABSTRACT

A rain shield comprising a waterproof fabric material having means for attachment to a hat or cover for a hat and sides which hang down proximate an ear of a user with side edges that are weighted to prevent the fabric material from being blown around in a wind.

FIELD

The present invention relates to a flexible flap that fits over the backof the head and neck to shield these areas from rain, sunlight, andcontaminants such as wood chips.

BACKGROUND

The prior art discloses rain shields which are designed to protect theback of the neck of the wearer from sun, rain, and the like. However,most of these block the peripheral vision of a user and interfere withthe user's range of activities. An important limitation of these shieldswas their lifting up in the wind and exposing the neck to rain and cold.Some rain shields employ rigid shields suspended from the brim of eitherthe front or back portions of the hat. Such shields block a considerableportion of the field of view of a user as well as impair his hearing.Recently, there have been fabric shields that hang down around the backof the head of a user. The fabric material hangs straight down with noprovision for stabilizing it in the wind. Under windy conditions, theshield tends to blow around in the wind and allows rain to fall on theback of the neck of a user or to block a user's vision to the side. Somerain bonnets have snap fasteners or draw strings to tie the bottom ofthe bonnet to a user's neck. However, it is desirable not to have thebottom of the head protective gear tied to a user's neck.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A rain shield having a waterproof fabric material with a means forattachment to a hat, and sides which hang down proximate an ear of auser with side edges that are weighted to prevent the fabric materialfrom being blown around in a wind.

An elastic band loop passes through a sleeve formed along a top edge ofsaid fabric material and slidable therein with a portion of the elasticband material at the front not covered by the fabric material.

Preferably, the heavy material is lead.

The elastic band slides through a sleeve formed at a top of the rainshield.

Advantageously, the fabric is nylon coated with neoprene.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages will be apparent from the followingdetailed description, given by way of example, of a preferred embodimenttaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of the rain shield;

FIG. 2 is a side view of a hard hat on a worker with a rain shieldmounted on the inside of the hard hat;

FIG. 3 is a view of the bottom of the hat of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of a type of hat used by policeofficers;

FIG. 5 is a side view of a bicycle helmet with a helmet coverimmediately overhead;

FIG. 6 is a view of the bottom of the helmet cover showing theattachment of the rain shield; and

FIG. 7 Is side view showing the helmet cover over the bicycle helmet andthe rain shield attached.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION WITH REFERENCE TO THE DRAWINGS

Referring to FIG. 1, the rain shield 10 which if made of fabric has twodownwardly and outwardly directed straight side edges 16. The side edges14 and 16 both slope downwardly and inwardly to a bottom edge 17. At thetop there is a loop of an elastic band 24 which is attached to thematerial or fabric.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the rain shield 10 is attached at its topend to the elastic loop 24, The rain shield 10 has two straight sideedges 16 that hang downwardly and outwardly at an angle to the axis ofthe rain shield of about 25 degrees to the vertical, terminating in asecond side edge which slopes downwardly and inwardly at an angle ofabout 30 degrees to the vertical. The latter side terminates in a bottomedge. Lead is sewn into the edges 16 and 14 to ensure that the rainshield 10 does not blow around in the wind. Referring to FIG. 2 thebottom or inside of the helmet has a central pad suspended from fourbrackets affixed to the wall of the helmet 12. The head band 18 issuspended by four plastic eyelets 22 which enclose leather bands 20attached to central pad 21. The elastic band 24 loops around theheadband 18 while the rain shield 10 extends out from the back of thehelmet 12.

The lower edges 14 allow the fabric to slip over the shoulders whenturning one's head without impeding movement of the fabric. The lengthof the fabric overs the back of the neck even when leaning forward. Notplacing weight along the bottom 17 of the fabric allows wind to lift upthe fabric in the central back area between the side edges while theside edges 14 and 16 remain in place due to the weights placed alongthem. The aerodynamic design in which most of the excess cloth has beenremoved, prevents fabric from raising up on the side to a user's face.

FIG. 4 shows a type of hat used by many police officers. It has a softtop 26 which is connected around its periphery to a rigid sidewall 28.Extending outwardly and downwardly is a rigid visor 27. The rain shieldelastic band 24 is looped around the rigid sidewall 28 so that thefabric at the back extends downwardly from the rigid sidewall 28. Thetop of the hat extends beyond the rigid side wall so as to preventleakage between the hat and the rain shield 10.

FIG. 5 shows a bicycle helmet 34 and a fabric cover 30 with a periphery32 enclosing an open interior 34. Hook and loop male and female fastenerelements are sewn into the back of the cover 30 and at the top of therain shield 10 to allow the rain shield to be fastened to the cover 30.

FIG. 6 shows a standard fabric cover 30 upside down with the rain shield10 attached to the fabric cover 30 along the inside side. FIG. 7 showsthe cover 30 in place over the bicycle helmet 34. The rain shield 10hangs down from the rear half of the bicycle helmet cover 30. As seen inFIG. 2 when on a wearer such as a construction worker, the side edge 16hangs down at a slope and position which leaves the peripheral areaexposed and yet covers the back of the head and neck.

While in most cases the rain shield 10 is attached to the hat or helmetby looping its elastic around a head band of the hat or helmet,obviously other ways of attaching it can be used such as ties at thebottom of the rain shield 10. The rain shield 10 employs a waterprooffabric such as polyethylene coated nylon when it is to be designed forshielding rain.

It is possible to place the elastic loop over the user's head and simplywear a soft baseball cap on top.

In most cases the fabric selected is waterproof but where the purpose isto shield sunlight a mesh would be selected so that it merely reflectssunlight.

Accordingly while this invention has been described with reference toillustrative embodiments, this description is not intended to beconstrued in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the illustrativeembodiment will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon referenceto this description. It is therefore contemplated that appended claimswill cover any such modifications or embodiments as fall within thescope of the invention.

1. A rain shield comprising: a fabric material having a means forattachment to a hat, and sides which hang down proximate an ear of auser with side edges that are weighted to prevent the fabric materialfrom being blown around in a wind and expose a wearer to rain.
 2. A rainshield according to claim 1, wherein weighting is accomplished byplacing heavy material along side edges of said fabric material.
 3. Arain shield according to claim 2, wherein the heavy material is lead. 4.A rain shield according to claim 1, wherein the means for attachment toa hat is an elastic band loop which slides through a sleeve formed at atop of the rain shield said elastic band loop looping around a hat bandor exterior wall of a hat.
 5. A rain shield according to claim 1,wherein said fabric is nylon coated with neoprene.
 6. A rain shieldaccording to claim 1, including an elastic band loop passing throughsaid sleeve and slidable therethrough with a portion of the elastic bandmaterial at the front not covered by the fabric material said elasticband loop being looped around an internal head band of a hat or hatcover.
 7. A rain shield according to claim 1, wherein a first set ofside edges slope downwardly and outwardly and a second set slopedownwardly and inwardly with the length of the rain shield such that thefabric hangs down to the shoulder blades of a user.
 8. A rain shieldaccording to claim 2, wherein no weight is placed along a bottom of thefabric so as to allow wind to lift the back of the fabric and with theside edges remaining in place.
 9. A rain shield according to claim 1,wherein the material is waterproof.
 10. A rain shield according to claim1, wherein the material is a mesh.